Chennai Photo Biennale Edition 4 celebrates work of women artists

Phase 1 of the Chennai Photo Biennale (CPB) Edition 4 began on Friday with its thematic enquiry, ‘Why Photograph?’.

This December, the line-up of events includes two primary shows and three invited shows across Chennai.

One of the primary shows, ‘It’s time. To see. To be seen’, focuses on women responding to the world through photography. Inaugurated by dancer Anita Ratnam at Lalit Kala Akademi, it features works of women artists across India, Germany, Switzerland, France, the U.K. and Palestine.

“There are 21 women artists featured in this primary show, which is about positioning women in photography as we want to address the gender gap. Celebrating the work of women photographers from around the world is the way to address this issue..,” Varun Gupta, managing trustee of CPB, said.

Shuchi Kapoor, founding trustee of CPB, shared details of the featured works, and said: “Women are actively working in diverse spaces, that are not limited to domestic sphere.”

Among the featured artists is Indu Antony, based out of Bengaluru and Kerala, exhibiting ‘Cecilia’ed’ — an ongoing work since 2018. “This is a longer project on safety of women in public and neighbourhood spaces,” Ms. Indu said. Another featured artist, Prarthana Singh’s ‘Champion’ is a long-term visual research project that she had worked on since 2015. “This project is about women wrestlers using their bodies as tools of resistance — from standing in wrestling pits or at protests,” she said.

Besides the primary show, an interactive ‘Take a card’ feature was available for visitors. It allowed people to pick up a card, which would have words of wisdom from women photographers, journalists, writers and scholars, Katharina Gorgen, Director of Goethe-Institut Chennai, said.

The other primary show — Vaanyerum Vizhuthugal — was hosted at VR Mall Chennai. It focused on Tamil Nadu’s photographic talent, showcasing the works of 12 lens-based artists and curated by Jaisingh Nageswaran.

The primary shows will run till March 16, 2025.

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